New Vauxhall/Opel Insignia

[philsmith]

Saw four of the new Insignia Estates on the M25 this morning, badges taped over and some light disguise around the lights, but unmistakenely Insignias.

Hope they have more cubic capacity in the back than the old one, a friend of mine had one as a loan car last year and could hardly get anything in it!

 

Looked at them on the conigurator and you can get a fully equipped petrol 260hp 4x4 for around 35K, bit of competition for the Superb I reackon.

 

......oh..... and you can get them in more than a shade of grey!

Edited 20 June, 2017 by philsmith

[Rainmaker]

The new Insignia Sport / Tourer looks really very decent for what it is. The new gen Vauxhalls are much larger inside than those of old, while being smaller outside and about 200KG lighter. A nice achievement for Vauxhall, and by all accounts they are solidly built and very nice places to sit. They're still quite dull to drive, but so is the Superb in the same vein. Yes the big petrols are fast and they can handle a country road, but I doubt anyone here would argue a circa 5 metre LWB car with wallowy suspension is the pinnacle of sports saloon engineering. Overall I'd give them a go, but I'd really want to see a manual gearbox. The Vx 4x4 is also permanent - unlike the Superb's - and as such adds weight and drag. The official fuel consumption (as 'trustworthy' as they are) show VAG way ahead of Vx and Ford. For example a 2.0 220 TSI gets about 45mpg combined on the test, a figure only matched by 150ps engines from Ford and Vx. In the real world who knows? I'd definitely give them a test drive though!

[Blindek]

2 hours ago, philsmith said:

Saw four of the new Insignia Estates on the M25 this morning, badges taped over and some light disguise around the lights, but unmistakenely Insignias.

Hope they have more cubic capacity in the back than the old one, a friend of mine had one as a loan car last year and could hardly get anything in it!

 

Looked at them on the conigurator and you can get a fully equipped petrol 260hp 4x4 for around 35K, bit of competition for the Superb I reackon.

 

......oh..... and you can get them in more than a shade of grey!

 

Don't know about UK, but here you can already buy and Drive them. Seen a few on the Open road. Looks nice with the OPC Line Package, but the Sport Touring is 4.99m long  that's huge! 

[jrn6581]

Guy's I had a go in the new Insignia a few weeks ago it was the hatch and the thing was so loud and it wasn't even on 18's or anything thawing and road noise was shocking.

[Rainmaker]

1 minute ago, jrn6581 said:

Guy's I had a go in the new Insignia a few weeks ago it was the hatch and the thing was so loud and it wasn't even on 18's or anything thawing and road noise was shocking.

 

That's surprising. All the reviews say they're very supple and well insulated. Perhaps you need to add the double glazing option (no, really) to benefit.

[Prykey]

Unfortunately the residual values seem to fall off a cliff as soon as you drive them out of the showroom.

[knfruitbat]

The old insignia was way too small in terms of boot space, hence I kept my Vectra Estate for so long. Superb estate was floating somewhere in the North Sea on Monday according to dealer, hopefully on a larger boat otherwise I may not be accepting it on collection.

[Rainmaker]

7 minutes ago, knfruitbat said:

The old insignia was way too small in terms of boot space, hence I kept my Vectra Estate for so long. Superb estate was floating somewhere in the North Sea on Monday according to dealer, hopefully on a larger boat otherwise I may not be accepting it on collection.

 

The new one is longer than a Superb and has a 560 litre boot (the rest goes on leg room). That's bigger than an equivalent Mondeo so they've definitely addressed the luggage capacity issue. Shame it's not more engaging to drive, but as a motorway weapon it'd be pretty decent indeed. I built one on their configurator with all the toys and it was very competitive indeed, and that's before the traditional massive Vx discount (because they know they have terrible residuals and not many people buy them). It wouldn't be my first choice but they've certainly upped their game. 

[Auric Goldfinger]

19 minutes ago, Prykey said:

Unfortunately the residual values seem to fall off a cliff as soon as you drive them out of the showroom.

 

One of my work mates bought a 6 month old ex demo, fully loaded Insignia, kept it 6 months decided he didn't really like it so tried to trade it back in with the same dealer who offered him less than half what he paid for it. Even " We buy any car " wern't really interested in it either......

 

Would you buy one. I think not

[dg360]

The lease companies want more for an insignia per month than for a similar sized Merc.  Good clue regarding predicated residual values...

[widu13]

Lol. My lease Superb will cost less than a lease Dacia Logan Estate over 2 years!

[daveo138]

I had a look at the Insignia tourer a couple of years ago when looking for a replacement for a Passat. The boot was less than 2/3 the size and as my Passat boot was filled up to the load cover, it was a non-starter. 

 

While I was at the vx dealer, I measured the boot on an Astra estate - it was bigger than the Insignia, although with the front seats fully back, there was no room for rear seat passengers' legs.  

 

I had a Zafira hire car for a week last year. I found the 'user-interface' dreadful, so that was enough to put me off Vauxhalls, as I am sure they will all be the same. 

[jrn6581]

Hi RM it was subtle enough it just seemed very noisy, but as people have said on here enough it could have been the tyres but it was boomy in the back it was almost like it needed another layer of sound deadening material. The interior plastics were slightly iffy in places too but it was leaps ahead of the last one at least.

[Rainmaker]

2 hours ago, jrn6581 said:

Hi RM it was subtle enough it just seemed very noisy, but as people have said on here enough it could have been the tyres but it was boomy in the back it was almost like it needed another layer of sound deadening material. The interior plastics were slightly iffy in places too but it was leaps ahead of the last one at least.

 

In a mainstream car I'm no big critic of scratchy plastics in moderation. All such cars are built to a strict budget, and I'd rather a manufacturer spend money on the drivetrain, chassis and related suspension etc rather than spunk all the pennies on squishy plastics and 'perceived quality'. For example most generations of Focus and Mondeo are lauded as 'driver's cars' and rightly so. You'll find plenty of scratchy plastic in the cabin but they're fairly solid and they drive very pleasingly indeed, with a nice connected-to-the-road feeling (newest e-PAS model potentially exempted). 

[penguin17]

7 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

 

In a mainstream car I'm no big critic of scratchy plastics in moderation. All such cars are built to a strict budget, and I'd rather a manufacturer spend money on the drivetrain, chassis and related suspension etc rather than spunk all the pennies on squishy plastics and 'perceived quality'. For example most generations of Focus and Mondeo are lauded as 'driver's cars' and rightly so. You'll find plenty of scratchy plastic in the cabin but they're fairly solid and they drive very pleasingly indeed, with a nice connected-to-the-road feeling (newest e-PAS model potentially exempted). 

Agreed.  Ford are the benchmark for handling and steering feel/weight in most segments.  Though the latest generation of Mondeo has taken a step back IMO.  

[Speedman]

I had one vauxhall - never again. Nice looking, good equipment including leather but the aircon packed up and the dealer after many attempts, gave up trying to get it working. Second dealer did the same, it was out of warranty so I sold it rather than waste more money. As many have said above, residual values are terrible. For anyone wiling to take a risk, give it 6 months and there will be some huge bargains around. I don't see it as a real competitor to the superb - only in size. 

[penguin17]

I seen the new Insignia last week and TBH I think the almost 9 year old VW Passat CC looks better from the outside.  The area around the C pillar on the Insignia looks lazy and very tacky.  It's almost like the designer couldn't be bothered.

 

Front end looks to be stolen from a Volvo V40, general silhouette is a BMW 6 series gran coupe and everything in between is a Kia Optima.  Fundamentally it's so ugly that only a Vauxhall Senator could love it. 

[skidpan]

Chap just round the corner has had a hatch on his drive for a few weeks now and in metallic grey it does look very nice better than the Superb to be honest IMHO. I suspect he works for the local GM dealer considering the number of 16 plate Corsa's his kids drive (wife is sensible, drives a TSI Leon) and the fact he has a new motor every 3 months.

 

Spotted an ad on the TV last week advertising the Insomnia. The prices at the end looked interesting so I did a bit of Googling. To compare it with the Superb we own the 1.5 Turbo Petrol 165 PS in SRi spec appears to be as close as it gets. The design spec does not have climate etc and the higher specs have the usual Carlos Fandango wheels. The price for this £19285, from a reputable broker £15357. In comparison the Suberb 1.4 TSi 150 PS is £22600 or £19330 from a reputable broker. The Insomnia is £4000 less at broker prices which appears to be a bargain.

 

But there appears to be a catch.

 

Having looked at a couple of reviews and then looked at the official Insomia website I am at a compete loss at what the GM designers have been doing. The car is huge but the boot in the hatch manages a measly 495 litres, the Superb, as well all know, is a huge 630 litres. Look at the options list, only a space saver is listed so I assume that if you insist on a full size spare it will rob some of that measly bootspace, at least in the superb the "full" size wheel still fits under the floor. 495 litres less some for wanting a full size spare is probably no more than the 441 litres our Nissan Note manages and that has a full size spare that does not affect boot space

.

What have the idiot GM designers been drinking?

[philsmith]

Still have not been able to find the capacity of the new estate with the seats down, the previous model was really bad, but the last of the Vectras was huge, big as an E class at the time.

As you say, what are the GM designers thinking, most people by estates for their load capacity not 'cause they look 'cool'

[Bud]

@skidpan

 

You do not appear to be able to add a spare wheel option to the:

 

New Insignia Elite Nav

2.0 (260PS) TURBO 4X4

8-SPEED, AUTOMATIC, ALL WHEEL DRIVE

 

Add

2.0 (170PS) Turbo D BlueInjection

6-speed, manual

4X4

Consumption (combined)53.3 (5.3) mpg (l/100km)

CO2 Emission139 g/km

17-inch steel emergency spare wheel (in lieu of emergency tyre inflation kit)

Remove

Chassis equip rear rear axle, 5-link

2.0 (260PS) Turbo 4X4

8-speed, automatic, All Wheel Drive

Consumption (combined)32.5 (8.7) mpg (l/100km)

CO2 Emission199 g/km

Active Noise Cancellation

Bose® Premium Sound System

Total Price Change-£2,615

 

That's nearly as mad as getting a Kodiak that cannot tow

 

So got to a car costing £35200 and seemed to be missing Park assist, lane assist and one or 2 others I thought were good inclusion on the L&K Superb

Edited 23 June, 2017 by Bud

[philsmith]

Maybe the spare wheel takes up space where the rear axle would is on a 4x4.

 

Not having a spare (space saver or otherwise) would be a make or break for me when buying a car, I would not even go down the shops for a pint of milk without a spare on board.

Especially as me and kerbs have a very close relationship!

[Bud]

@philsmith Not sure as the 170 PS it suggested is also a 4x4 but manual as opposed to auto.

 

I agree about the spare though it's a must for me. 

 

[silver1011]

A big attraction to the Superb for me is it's rarity. Even if the Vectra Insignia is a marked improvement over the outgoing model it'll still be the photocopier salesman's car of choice and therefore will be absolutely everywhere.

 

Thanks, but not for me...

 

[Rainmaker]

39 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

A big attraction to the Superb for me is it's rarity. Even if the Vectra Insignia is a marked improvement over the outgoing model it'll still be the photocopier salesman's car of choice and therefore will be absolutely everywhere.

 

Thanks, but not for me...

 

 

To be fair, if you're going to look at it like that every second taxi I see is a Superb. 

[silver1011]

That's a good thing in my opinion, much like the Mercedes E-Class.